Betting tips for Ladies' Aussie Open in 2013

This is going to be great to watch, and of course both finalists of the previous years (Sharapova and Azarenka) will be among the main contenders this year as well. But there are many other players to watch, like Angelique Kerber who had an excellent season in 2013. Her strong physics will help her a lot tin this tournament. The fact that she has a good ranking now and will thus be among the top seed should help her a lot and I expect to see her in the semis.

And then there are those female tennis players who had a lenghty timeout due to injury, and will probably be back for the Aussie Open. In general, the algorithms to set the odds put a lot of focus on the current ranking, so a player like Stosur with her home advantage should have a good shot at the title. The odds for her as outright winner are 21,0 which in my opinion does not reflect her full potential.

As far as picking an outright winner, I would advise you though to wait until at least the first round has been played. If your sportsbook allows you  to pick semi-finalists (our favorite sportsbook Bet365 sure has that option), you might want to bet on Na Li and/or Stosur to be in the semis. According to the seed a possible semifinal would be Azarenka - Radwanska and Sharapova - S. Williams if they go through, but betting on Stosur and Na Li would give you great odds.

So now the qualifiers are through, the main draws are done - here's my Australian Open Women's picks for the first round.

Let's take a look at the players who came through the qualifiers and see what their chances are. Those players, if they can win their first round match, can give you great odds. And remember it can be a big advantage to already have three wins under your belt when you enter the main event:

Dolonc vs Rogovska - Dolonc performed very well in the qualifiers, and I expect her to win here. Bet365 gives her 1,33 odds, but I would say go for the "wins in 2 straight sets" option for odds of 1,9.

Amanmuradova is another player I expect to win her first match. Against Johanson and with 2,1 odds, that is a good bet.

Arn to win vs Cepelova, at 1,61.

The other qualificated players do not have very good odds relative to their chances of winning.

Now for the other matches of the first round of the Women's Australian Open - here are my top picks:

Daniilidou beating Pliskova, with 2,0 odds a great bet

Lisicki beating Wozniacki (who is not the same player she was a year ago), great odds with 2,75!